ZACHARY - Wednesday marks the first day of school for students in Zachary, and this year is coming with slight changes and a focus on job readiness.

With the district modifying uniform rules, rolling out new bus route software and focusing on career readiness, Zachary Superintendent Ben Necaise says he wants parents to have their first-day checklists too. 

"Make sure you're there, if you have transportation issues, immediately reach out and let us know and we can assist you with that, " Necaise said. "We really just want to make sure to get into a good smooth routine the first week of school."

Zachary doesn't want to change things that helped it become one of the top-performing districts in the state, but there are a few tweaks. 

Students now have an option to wear navy pants to school, and parents can download an app to track their child's school bus and check in with other school happenings. 

The First View app is free and can be downloaded by a caregiver or parent of the child. In order to be linked to the correct account, parents and caregivers will need the student's ID number. 

"To really make sure we are routing kids early, there is a new routing software we are using with them that should let us make sure all students really have a good route the first week of school," Necaise said. 

But one of the main focuses going into this year is getting the students career ready by providing them an online platform, Define Careers, to explore job options after high school. 

"A kid can't be what they don't know," Necaise said.  

The Zachary School District will also allow middle schools to build a digital portfolio that faculty members will oversee. The idea is that kids will show, rather than tell, their teachers what they are interested in studying. 

" We are not asking a kid, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?", Necaise said. "We now have information that shows us, 'these kids are really good and interested in this.' Let's gear them into that direction." 
Define careers sets up students for success in every aspect including preparing them for interviews within that field. 

"That person literally interview them and asks them questions and they respond in person on a camera, " said Necaise. "Then the AI will actually give them feedback on how you did really good in this part of the interview, you may want to brush up and do this better. "

But out of all of this excitement, Necaise says the staff is most excited for one thing as this year approaches.  

"Getting kids back in the building, that first day is so great and just having that life back in the building," said Necaise.

Students will walk through the halls once again in less than 24 hours.